These are people whose work I’ve been looking at, thinking about, sometimes gasping over. Intentionally or not, they’re likely influencing my work and decisions I make in the studio. They all directly influence my belief that art is an acheivable occupation, and for that alone I’m grateful. Putting them all together, I notice a theme of my interest in color palettes with bright pops of color surrounded by earth tones, repurposed materials, emotive process, and connections between past and future.

A fellow mom and cold basement studio artist, I spend a lot of time staring at her thick, heavy, gestural florals and studying the color palettes. I finally bought this print on the right after screenshotting it 5 times and going to the website that sells her prints to think about it 10 times.

If prints of this work ever become available I will absolutely purchase one. The color palettes, movement, and depth of the paintings stick out to me in an ocean of abstract paintings. This is not just a hobbyist taking advantage of the mainstream adoration of Abstract Expressionist color splashes, pours and mark making. The work is beautiful but not pretty; it has a shadow side. I especially love the figurative work- faces in shapes and colors fresh and unfamiliar, somehow looking like they’re in motion. Someone made a sweater from one of the paintings and I am both impressed and jealous.

I’m not a huge fan of displaying art with words in interior spaces (I feel like I would tire of it too quickly, or the words would get stuck in my head in an annoying way), but there are plenty of other uses and Lisa Congdon makes finding those options something I want to do.

I’m totally invigorated by his use of throw away clothing mashed in shapes that recreate them into colorful art objects. The squared off shapes are reminiscent of Wall-E (yes, the cartoon robot from the movie), who is a role model of mine with his creative use and appreciation of a trashed environment.

Historic quilts, appreciated as art, as they should be. The quilts he posts are not beautiful for their perfection, but for the ingenuity and creative expression you can find in their details- materials, methods, interesting use of color.

Since coming across her apparel work, I’ve been in love with the way she’s able to weave sudden bursts of bright color into otherwise earthy palettes in a way that enhances every color. I keep trying to imitate it and it’s much harder than it looks.

My hero. She is leading a project called Tiny Pricks in which she welcomes anyone who wants to stitch the words of the current President onto heirloom fabrics in order to give them greater permanence and attention as tweets and interviews pass away in our memory. The often outrageous words in the form of embroidery on treasured materials is meant to highlight this contrast and provoke a sense of shock in us that gets dulled by the sheer volume and frequency of his absurdity. Once again, I love when anyone can take trash and make it meaningful.